Borderlands: The Post-Sequel
by CrazyMihn
Summary: Five years after Hyperion's defeat, Gaige and the other Vault Hunters are fighting Handsome jack reborn. When Gaige discovers another reborn individual, the Vault hunters race to find out what Jack's plan is, and how their mortal enemy is still alive. For those of you who read Jim C Hines Magic Ex Libris series, you can now write a fanfic of that series, or read my new story!
1. Chapter 1

_Five years after the death of Handsome Jack, the world of Pandora has almost come back to what is generally called normal. Brick, Mordecai, and Talon left to seek out new vaults. Sanctuary began to rebuild what was destroyed in the lunar bombardment, with the help of some reprogrammed Hyperion loaders. the Crimson Raiders tore down the City Opportunity, and left the ruins as a reminder of what happens to those who overstep their boundaries. However, after the crash of Helios, a new threat emerged. A man claiming to be Handsome Jack reborn is beginning to attack those who bought his reign to an end. Our story starts with the Mechromancer Gaige investigating a signal coming from the ruins of Opportunity..._

Gaige raised her weapon and advanced further into the ruined city. Behind her sat a small shuttlecraft, which had bought her to this place. She passed old holosigns, still flickering Hyperion propaganda. She reminded herself why she had come. A distress call from an unknown sender had come from this ruin. Gaige had only come because she was mentioned in it. She hadn't told anyone, not even her fellow Vault Hunters.

She checked her HUD. The signal was coming from the other side of a building in front of her. She quickly checked her robotic arm was fully charged, and that her shield was online and ready. Everything checked out. She slapped a new magazine into her Vladof rifle, and continued to advance.

She rounded the corner of an abandoned building, and stopped dead. In front of her was a constructor. It was dead, but Gaige was still shocked by the unexpected sight. Gaige looked closer. A handprint had been left in a patch of dark soot. It was slightly smaller than Gaige's own hand, as if it belonged to a small child.

Gaige heard a sniffling sound coming from behind a nearby door. Gaige put away her rifle, and pulled out her Dahl SMG. She nudged open the sliding door, priming the underbarrel grenade-launcher. She stepped inside the building.

As Gaige's eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw that the building she was in was a lab. Gaige looked around, noticing the piles of yellow Hyperion crates, and the gutted frames of several digistruct stations. She noticed that a trail of small footprints lead through a door at the end of the room. She silently sprinted to the door, and flattened herself against the wall. The sniffling was coming from inside. She kicked open the door, and aimed her gun. The sniffling was coming from a young girl, about 10 years of age. She had a section of bald skull, where several implants were embedded in her skull. She was wearing a pair of clothes that were way too big for her. The most stunning thing about her were the siren tattoos down her arm. She stopped crying, and raised her head.

"No," said Gaige, stepping back in shock. "You're dead. I saw you die…"

The girl smiled, her gaunt face showing years of abuse and stress.

"Hello Gaige," said Angel. "Long time no see."

 ** _Hope you enjoyed this first chapter. I'm going to (hopefully) publish a new chapter every week. See you in 7 days!_**


	2. Chapter 2

Back at sanctuary, the other Vault Hunters were beginning to worry about Gaige. The house they were in was originally the property of a Crimson raider who was killed in the lunar bombardment 5 years ago. Since each vault hunter needed private space, the house had been divided into six rooms over two floors. The attic had been set aside for Krieg, as he wasn't really a people person. The attic door was fitted with a warning sign, and was strictly off limits for non-vault hunters. The entryway area housed the kitchen, lounge and office area. The bedrooms took up the upper floor. There was also a small metal ladder leading to the interior of Sanctuary. Gaige had a small workshop down there, which she had cleared of junk and pests. The vault hunters were currently gathered in the lounge, sitting on three of the four couches. Salvador was passed out on a couch. He had been out drinking all night, and needed to sleep it off.

"Where is that girl?" wondered Axton. "She just left without warning. I mean, she could've at least told us where…"

"She doesn't have to." interrupted Maya. "She's a Vault hunter. I mean, would you ask Zer0 where he was going if he just happened to wander off?"

"No!" said Axton. "Zer0 can go wherever he wants. But would you expect me to get a…"

"There you go Soldier/The Siren is Correct/Gaige is not a child."

Axton pointed at Zer0. "Don't you get involved in this."

The vault hunters continued squabbling, unaware that only a few dozen kilometres away, Gaige was having a very different kind of discussion.

Back at Opportunity, Gaige was sitting on top of a crate of materials, listening to Angel tell what happened after she 'died'.

"…and so after the Eridium injectors were destroyed," explained Angel. "I converted my consciousness to digital state, and remained in the ECHOnet for a short time."

"But why couldn't you just respawn from a New-U station?" asked Gaige. "Wouldn't that be easier?"

Angel uncrossed her legs, and stood up. She started pacing. Gaige tightened her grip on her SMG, and watched the young siren carefully.

"Because I'm not a Pandoran citizen, I'm not listed on Pandoran machines. Due to this, I can't use them, even if I hacked the network. Also, I think I didn't want to face the real world. Most of my time had been spent in the ECHO system. It felt…familiar."

Gaige nodded. She put her SMG in safety mode, and walked over to a machine resting against a nearby wall. It looked like a cross between a digistruct pole, and a MRI.

"What's this?" asked Gaige. "It looks like a modified New-U."

"It is," said angel. "I downloaded myself into a intact GUN Loader. Since all Loaders were originally unarmed engineering bots, it was easy to convert a newer loader back into a FIX loader. I then used it to build this unit, so I could have a proper body."

Gaige smiled. She walked over to Angel, and pointed to the door.

"I should bring you back to Sanctuary. The other Vault Hunters wil need to meet you….

Thirty minutes later, the other vault hunters were again sitting round the couches, listening to Angel explaining her story yet again. Maya was beside herself with joy, and Lilith was in the kitchen making angel a hot chocolate. Salvador had woken up, and was currently sipping coffee from a mug. He had turned the lights down low to stop his eyes from hurting.

"I see," said Axton. "So you managed to survive."

"I have one more question/You have omitted something/Why the cry for help?"

Everyone turned to zer0. He cocked his helmet thoughtfully. Then, Axton piped up.

"Angel," he started uncertainly. "Why did you send a signal?"

she looked down. "I needed help finding a place in the world. The only person I could think of who I though would help was…"

"Me," said Gaige. "You had access to each of our physiological assessments. Therefore, you knew I would be sympathetic."

Angel was about to reply when a series of explosions rocked the building. all the vault hunters were thrown to the floor, the mugs of hot chocolate smashing on the ground. Angel's tattoos glowed, and the young siren gasped.

"We're under attack!"

The vault hunters grabbed their guns, and rushed to the door. Krieg barreled down the stairs from the attic, and ran outside, screaming "My MOMMA SAID SHE LOVED THE PANCAKES!"

 ** _What will happen in Chapter 3? Is Handsome Jack behind this? Read Chapter 3 now!_**


	3. Chapter 3

The vault hunter rushed outside, and found themselves facing a small army. Their enemies resembled JNK loaders. JNK loaders which had the ability to shoot missiles and fly. The vault hunters immediately leapt into action. Zer0's holographic decoy rushed forwards. Krieg leapt onto a nearby loader and began throttling it with his buzz axe. Lilith and Maya tag-teamed and stated simultaneously immobilising and smashing loaders. Gaige was about to join the fight when Angel grabbed her arm.

"These Loaders: I can't shut them down. My powers aren't having a effect!"

Gaige nodded. She gestured to Axton, who ran over to where Gaige and Angel were crouched behind cover.

"Angel can't control the loaders. I'll join the fight. Protect her!"

Axton nodded, and threw out his turret. The dual-barrelled gun emplacement clung to a nearby wall, and began taking down loaders. Gaige ran into the fight. She summoned Deathtrap, and fired a shot from her corrosive SMG into his back. the robot began glowing green, and acid began dripping from his claws. She took the top off one loader, and swung her hammer into another's torso, knocking the legs off the robot. She saw further up the street that Doctor Zed was escorting patients into his practice, while zer0 took out any bots that came near. She ducked as a loader swung its arm overhead, and fired the last of her clip into it's vulnerable leg joint. The loader collapsed, its leg sparking. She looked around. Half the loaders were taken out, but there were still more coming. She saw that over at Zed's, Zer0 had taken a hit to the shoulder. His helmet was cracked, and he had a loader clutching his leg. The loader she had shot down took this momentary distraction as a window of opportunity, and grabbed her leg. It began charging it's eye blaster, aiming fro her torso. At this range, the shot would vaporise her, shields or not. Just then, about half the remaining loaders were taken out by sniper fire. Gaige looked down, and saw that the loader grasping her had a hole clean through it's processor. The looked up, and saw a shuttle hovering over the city. Standing on the exit ramp was Mordecai, a smoking sniper in his hand, and a bottle of ale in the other. She heard a clanging, and saw brick charging around the central plaza, taking out loaders with lopes of his fists.

After the battle, the vault hunters sat in Moxxi's Red Light, toasting their victory with bottles of ale. Gaige was allowing herself a tiny amount of the vehemently disgusting Rakk Ale, and was waiting on a hot chocolate she had ordered. Zoe, Moxxi's daytime waitress came over, the steaming drink on her shining platter.

"Here you go Gaige!" she chirruped. "One hot chocolate!"

"Thanks Zoe," said Gaige, accepting the hot drink. "Your kindness in appreciated."

Angel was telling Lilith, Brick and Mordecai why she didn't shut them down.

"They were…shielded from my abilities. The only person with enough knowledge to d that would be…"

"Handsome Jack," said Lilith. "So the bastard is really still alive."

Brick looked puzzled. "What's this about Jack being alive? We killed him five year ago Lily."

Lilith turned furiously. "You would know, IF you had stayed around to help. What the hell were you and Mordy thinking, running off when we needed you most. Vaults or not, you should at least help your friends!"

Brick looked downfallen, and gave a silent nod. Mordy looked as unperturbed as he always was.

"Our mission is now clear," addressed Lilith. "We hunt down Jack and kill him. Again. Hopefully for good this time round."

The vault hunters clinked their glasses to this. Their mission had only just begun.

 ** _Thanks to MintyMarauder for providing my first positive review. Also, I hope the last chapter wasn't that bad. Please submit more reviews, your readership is appreciated! See you in a week for chapters 4, 5 & 6_**


	4. Chapter 4

Lilith lead Brick and Mordecai into the redesigned command centre at the Crimson Raider HQ. The two vault hunters looked around in awe at the new room. The big map in the centre of the room had been replaced with a dais which projected a holographic map of Pandora. The desks and flatscreens around the edges of the room had been replaced with wall-mounted consoles, with dozens of touchscreens displaying up-to-date info. The balcony that once sat at the end of the room was gone. The room had been expanded to the point where no such balcony existed anymore. Instead, a small briefing table and a wall-sized display sat in the extended area. Displayed on the screen was a picture of a satellite, with multiple cameras and communication dishes. On the picture, a Crimson Raider logo was spray-painted on the side.

"We have a satellite?" asked Mordecai.

Lilith smiled. "Yes, we do. With the help of several Hyperion Defectors- and Dr. Tannis- we launched a surveillance and communications satellite last year. We named it _Roland 1_."

Mordecai downed his head. "Lily, I'm so sorry we weren't there. Please accept my apologies. I know you had a harder time running the raiders after we left."

Lilith smiled and nodded her thanks. Just then, a icon blinked on one of the displays. Lilith ran to the console and started tapping icons.

"What is…" began Brick.

"Ssssh!" hushed Lilith. "We're about to get a message from our 'old friend'."

The master display screen at the front of the room was lit with a Hyperion logo. The logo flickered out, being replaced with a animated version of Handsome Jack.

"Bandits of Pandora! Y'know, it was pretty damm hard not to start laughing at how easily I managed to send a _army_ of Loaders to your little city. By the way, I happened to notice you have a person pretending to be my daughter. Now, if I were a vengeful man, I would send a army to kill the brat defiling my Angel's memory. But I'm not. So here's the deal. You send me the vault hunters AND that scumbag pretending to be my little girl, and I promise: I'll try not to make you SCREAM to much when you're dying by my hands. Oh, and I also want you to all kneel before me and swear allegiance to me. It'll be better than be sending another army to you. Next time, it won't be JNK loaders. Next time…it'll be war loaders. and if you're still alive after that: well, you just wait. Handsome Jack, out."

The screen blipped out, accompanied by a quick flash of the mask of Handsome Jack. Lilith punched the air in excitement.

"I got him!"

Brick looked puzzled. "Did what now?"

Lilith grinned. "He tried to bounce the signal. But thanks to a couple of upgrades performed by Gaige, we have the broadcast location. It's coming from the old Loaderbot foundry near Opportunity."

The vault hunters drove slowly up to the hill which housed the Loaderbot foundry. The factory was built into the hillside out in the foothills surrounding the Highlands. With the shuttle damaged in the JNK Loader attack, they were using one of Scooter's latest vehicles. After being seriously injured in a rocket crash, Scooter had had his legs replaced with very flimsy cybernetics. Without the ability to walk very far, he had walled himself up in his garage, devoting his time to building new vehicles for the Raiders. His latest one was a four-treaded LAV with a tank turret, and four seats. It was that same vehicle the Vault hunters were driving, partly because Scooter needed a test drive, and also because they needed a good deal of firepower more. The blast doors leading into th hillside were rent, left from the failed attack by the Raiders on the facility five years ago. The automated defences were self-repairing and self-restocking. They also packed quite a punch.

Gaige stepped out of the vehicle, her four-barrelled Hyperion shotgun primer and ready. slung at her side was her Tediore Gunerang, and a bandit Machene Gun was strapped to her back. In her SDU Backpack was a Dahl Grenade Launcher and a rare Hyperion Laser. Also in the backpack was at least ten other guns, a couple of kilos of ammo, and a few supplies. She also carried her dad's parting gift- a titanium-plated echo recorder- in a box at her waist. The last one was there as a reminder that she had everything to fight for.

Axton gestured to Salvador to stay in the turret, and guard the area. The dwarf nodded, and limped up the ramp leading into the small cabin. He had injured his leg during the attack of sanctuary, and was effectively unable to fight. Axton turned on the tactical camera on his shoulder, and lead the way into the dark factory.

An hour later, the vault hunters were crouched behind a pair of overturned supply crates, pinned down by a hailstorm of bullets. the automated defences had been surprisingly easy to deal with. However, when they reached the Loader storage, the charging robots had leapt down off their racks an swarmed them. They had begun advancing towards the vault hunters, firing at the crates with reckless abandon. Now, the vault hunters huddled behind the makeshift barricades, occasionally firing round the corner. Deathtrap let out a shuddering whine as his Emergency Deconstruct Program was activated for the umpteenth time. He winked out of existence, just as Axton's sabre turret began sending out wisps of smoke. The twin barrels were glowing red hot as the turret dumped its emergency cooling reserves over the barrels with a hiss. The turret then promply was blown to shreds by a incoming RPG.

"This is INSANE!" yelled Maya, as she phaselocked and destroyed a EXP Loader. "We're never going to survive this!"

Axton was about to call for a retreat when a bloodcurdling yell filled the room. A hulking shape began running the way the Vault Hunter's came. Its bulky mass was cloaked in the shadows of the corridor. As it came closer, Gaige close her eyes. a bloodcurdling cry filled the air, and the shape jumped right over the barrier. The sound of screeching metal filled the air. Then there was a tidal wave of hot liquid, and all was quiet.

 ** _Chapters 5 & 6 are still coming. A little note on the side here, I'm going to release chapter 5 after a week. If anyone can figure out how Jack survived his defeat at Hero's pass, or even comes close, I will give you a character in the story. I've already given a character to my first reviewer. To get your name in the story, just review this chapter with a brief description of how Jack survived (along with your real first name). If so, you'll get into chapter 6, which will detail what happens back at Sanctuary while the Vault hunters are away. I can tell you that a major character (one who we mostly love) will be killed in the 6_** ** _th_** ** _chapter. See you in a week for Chapters 5 & 6!_**


	5. Chapter 5

Gaige opened her eyes to find that she was covered in oil. Motor oil, to be precise. A loader's arm was resting in her lap, and she could hear heavy breathing coming from over the barricade.

"I RIPPED YOUR BLACK SOULS FROM YOUR YELLOW-LIVERED BELLIES TO USE AS MY MATTRESS!"

"Krieg?" asked Axton. "I thought you were back at Sanctuary?"

Gaige peeked up over the crate, to find a oil-soaked Krieg waving his buzzaxe over his head. Around him were the dismembered bodies of hundreds of loaders. Ahead of the Vault Hunters was a industrial blast door leading further into the facility.

The psycho grinned and yelled "MY HEAD TRUMPETS ARE FIT TO BUSTING WITH YOUR SCREAMS OF DISTRESSED JEANS!"

Axton thought about this, then dismissed his question with a shake of his head. Everyone turned towards the other end of the room, where the massive door loomed.

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"C'mon guys," ordered Maya. "Let's go kick Jack in the testicles."

The Vault Hunters trudged up to the heavy door. The massive hatch was painted in Hyperion yellow, and had the company's logo painted across the door. Surprisingly, the door still had unscratched paintwork, unlike anything else in the facility. Axton stepped towards the control panel, which looked just as pristine as the paintwork.

Just then, the door began to shudder as it opened. All the vault hunters stepped back as the five meter tall door slid across its rails, giving off a unholy screeching as it did. The door stopped moving with a clang.

"Welcome, Vault Hunters!" came a familiar (yet distorted) voice from within. "Y'know, it's been a while since we last saw each other. Personally, I'd like to congratulate you for your victory: you've personally foiled my previous 'plans' and saved yourselves. BUT, you haven't saved Pandora from ME!"

A clanking sound came from a nearby corridor. A loader with a screen embedded in its chest walked forwards, towering over the Vault Hunters. Many other modifications existed on it's bulky frame, most noticeably the large anti-tank missile launcher mounted on it's right shoulder. It carried a large machine gun, and had various antennae attached to free locations on its modified shell. On the screen however, was Handsome Jack's face.

 _As Jack lay dying at the Vault of the Warrior, he knew that even if the Warrior killed the Vault Hunters, he was not long for this world. He quickly activated a small device attached to the cuff of his jacket, rolling so that Lilith wouldn't see him use the device. The clasps of his facemask blinked small LED's as his memories and consciousness were duplicated and turned into a AI. The AI was duplicated so that two copies existed: a primary version, and a emergency backup. One was sent to Professor Nakamaya, to be put into a new body. Nakamaya was then killed on Aegrus, and the chip was activated by Rhys, resulting in the fall of Helios. That ai was destroyed completely. The backup was meant to be stored indefinitely on the servers at the Info Stockade. In the eventuality that the Primary AI was deleted or corrupted, any nearby Hyperion machinery would send a activation to the version at the Info Stockade. Due to the defeat of the Primary, the Backup AI was indeed activated, and trapped in the ECHOnet_

 _Desperate for a body, the AI downloaded itself into a SRG Loader which had been set aside for this eventuality. However, a bug in the SRG's software trapped the backup in the temporary body. Terrified, and wanting revenge, the AI travelled to the Loaderbot Foundry, where it started rebuilding its armoury. Attempts to contact the Hyperion bandits failed, and 'Handsome Jack' abandoned his former company. He declared that only robots were pure in form, and that all the organic life on Pandora had to be wiped out. Then and there, he began to draw in the people who killed his body, so that his revenge would be complete._

Now, the Loader Handsome Jack raised his gun, and smiled. Gaige grabbed her laser out of her pack, and prepared for a fight to the death. The loader charged, and Gaige began firing desperately. Beside her, the others fought on. But while Gaige, Axton, Krieg & Maya were fighting, other things were spiring back at Sanctuary. The flying city was under attack

Back at Sanctuary, Zer0 was tending to a small bonsai tree he had acquired from a trading ship that had crashed on Pandora. He had tended to the tree, keeping it as a meditational item. Just as he was snipping a wayward shoot, the ground shook, and screaming sounded from outside. Sighing beneath his mask, Zer0 grabbed his sniper rifle, and his sword, and opened the door of the Vault Hunter's house. He found himself facing a WAR loader, with heavy modifications. The goliath began spinning up its twin cannon barrels, as it menacingly stepped forwards. Zer0 leapt onto the front of the loader, just as it demolished the door of the Vault Hunter's house. The loader pivoted on it's waist joint as it tried to shake him off. He stabbed his sword through the WAR loader's single red eye, and pulled it out. The massive machine crashed to the ground, narrowly hitting Zer0. He saw ten more WAR loaders threatening the civilians in the square with their massive autocannons. He grabbed his sniper off his back, and put three shots straight through a trio that were threatening Michael Mamarill. Just then, a war loader rocket down from the sky right in front of him a bubble shield protected it entirely. Zer0 backed up against the wall, and fired his electric pistol into it without much success. The autocannons powered up, and zer0 noticed that his shields were at 0. He stood still,, and held his ground. Suddenly, a yellow blur rushed in front of him, catching the fire as it went. A large ZAP sounded, and a beam of red light lanced from close to the ground. The war loader fell, dead. Zer0 looked down at the lone CL4P-TRP that had intercepted the shot for him. Claptrap lay there, smoke pouring from holes peppered in his front. One of his arms was lying a little bit away. His single eye was flickering, and his disk drive was shot off.

"Mi…minion. Did I do it? Are you still alive? I can't see…"

Zer0 bowed his head. "Yes, I am Alive/You are dying, Let me help/Claptrap, you did it."

The bot gasped suddenly. "I see them! The biggest doors I have EVER seen. Aaaa..aaaand Opeeeen…"

The light in his eye blinked out, gone forever. Zer0 shuddered with rage, and a scream echoes from beneath his mask. He charged into battle, leaving behind the heroic robot to rest in peace.


	6. Chapter 6

As Zer0 fought off the WAR Loaders Jack had sent to Sanctuary, Gaige was fighting for her very life. The loader handsome jack had already destroyed Deathtrap five times, and it was looking like it would be futile fight. Axton was having trouble with his sabre, and the turret seemed to be slowing down its fire rate due to mechanical difficulty.

The JACK Loader (as Gaige had begun calling their enemy) was currently face planting Krieg into the floor over and over again. The unconscious Psycho had broken the loader's gun, but the missiles from the shoulder rack were pinning the rest of the Vault Hunters down.

Just then, Maya grabbed a book from her bookbag, and began flicking through the pages.

"THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO READ HARRY POTTER!" screamed Axton. "JUST PHASELOCK THE BASTARD!"

Maya held up a finger, and pulled out her ECHO device. She tapped a quick numeral combination into the device and accessed the JACK Loader's echo channel. Gaige was about to also chastise her, when the barrage of digistructed missiles stopped.

"What just happened?" asked Gaige. "Did the loader just…stop firing?"

Maya ginned and stood up. Gaige hesitantly stood up, followed by Axton. The loader had indeed stopped firing. It had also stopped moving. On the screen, the face of handsome jack strained and contorted itself.

"What the Fuck did you just do?" asked Jack. "I can't move my…body."

Maya turned to Axton and Gaige. "I used a list of Hyperion diagnostic codes to hack into Jack's systems, and disconnect him from his body. He can't move OR fire."

Krieg then woke up. "MY SHINY FACEBALL JUST PULLED OFF THE HANDBALL COURT LIKE A CHEESEBURGER EATING A COW! I SUFFER THE JOY!"

The Jack AI then fell silent. The face was replaced with a loading bar, which slowly drained to 0%. The screen then went black.

"What just happened?" asked Axton. "Did Handsome Jack just…delete himself?"

Suddenly, the group received a message on their ECHO devices.

Maya read her message with a horrified expression on her face.

"It's Zer0…." She said, trailing off. "Sanctuary…it's been attacked."

The Vault hunters arrived back using the fast travel system. When they stepped out of the station, they arrived in hell.

Fires burnt everywhere, sections of ground rent. Bodies of civilians were few, but those that were there were riddled with smoking craters. All around lay the gutted skeletons of WAR loaders. in the middle of the devastation stood Zer0.

"Zer0!" yelled Gaige, relieved. "You're OK!"

the assassin walked forwards, his head bowed. His Hyperion SMG was holstered at his side, and his katana was at his hip, the blade locked in position.

"A Friend We Have Lost/A Great Hero Is No More/Claptrap Was Killed."

The Vault Hunters stared silently. Salvador laughed heartily.

"Ahahahahah! Zero, you're such a joker!" he wheezed. "Claptrap, a hero? Ah you make me…"

The dwarf barely ha time to finish his sentence. In a blink of an eye, the lanky assassin had his blade under Salvador's throat. Zer0 whispered something in the gunzerker's ear. The small Pandoran went pale, and nodded. Zer0 stepped back, sheathing his sword.

Lilith, Brick and Mordecai walked towards the six. They were carrying their guns, and were all covered in blood and oil.

"That Motherfucker!" exclaimed Lilith. "He sicked those robots upon the innocent people here, when he said that he would spare them if you came to fight him. That….AAARGH!"

Gaige stepped forewards. "How much damage was done? Who was killed?"

Lilith sighed. "We've lost the clinic, Marcus Munitions and half the antigravity relays are blown. Our dead include Tannis, Claptrap and Marshal Freedman. We're in the air, but just barely."

Gaige stepped forwards. "I have an idea about the antigravs. But first, you need to know about Jack."

Brick frowned. "You killed him right?"

Axton sighed. "He escaped into the ECHOnet. Turns out that 'Jack Reborn' was a AI copy inside a loader body."

Lilith sighed. "Well, I'm all ears. By the way Gaige, should your arm be smoking like that…"

Suddenly Gaige was knocked off her feet as her entire left arm detonated. She collapsed to the ground, her empty socket smoking. She screamed as darkness consumed the world.

 **OKAY I'M BACK. This time for good. I had TOO many assessment tasks, and not enough time, so I can now continue writing the story. Sorry to my fans who have been put off my previous message. Also, to Dria's, you're going to have to wait until Chapter 7 for your new character. I will introduce you into the borderlands, but please, wait a little longer. I will hold another competition now: to the person who figures out what happened to Gaige's arm, they will get their name given to a new vault hunter I will introduce at the end of the story. They will become a 7** **th** **vault hunter at the beginning of the next instalment planned. Happy hunting! (also, review this chapter with your real life name to win the competition. If you don't want to reveal your ACTUAL name, just make one up that is a PROPER name that is LESS than 8 syllables. Okay. Big author's note. I think that's it)**


	7. Chapter 7

Two days later, Gaige sat in her workshop, tinkering with her new arm. After her arm exploded, Lilith (wisely) suggested the city go off the ECHOnet until Jack could be hunted down. already, several of the reprogrammed Hyperion loaders had activated and caused havoc within the bowels of the city. Ten of the city's ECHOlinks had been shut off, and the other six were busy tracking down Jack. While the Raiders searched for Jack, the Vault Hunters were resting. Gaige was tinkering with a new arm. Unfortunately for her, Deathtrap's Data Storage Unit had been completely destroyed, and there was no backup. In essentiality, Deathtrap was dead. However, Gaige was busy building a new robot. Unfortunately, things were not going well.

"AAAAARRRRGHHH! YOU STUPID PIECE OF METAL SH-"

"Woooah!" said Axton, walking into the cramped room. "What's up Gaige?"

Gaige glared at the Commando, a complicated piece of circuitry in her hand. She turned back to her work with a huff.

"The GODDAMM Heckler-circuit reintegrator is messing up, my STUPID echo device keeps freezing and playing a song praising Jack EVEN though I disconnected it from the network HOURS ago, and KRIEG KEEPS SINGING GARBLED POP SONGS IN THE ATTIC!"

"A LOOTING CAR WILL SHOOT YOU AND STARS WILL GO AND BAWL! THE MAN ON THE MOON JUMPED ON ME AND I STARTED TO LOVE THE WALL!"

Krieg's yelling trailed off, followed by a long snore. Gaige slumped in her chair, the integrator falling onto the floor with a thump. Axton set down a mug of hot chocolate on the table.

"I know this isn't the time, but I got you a cup of hot chocolate. We thought you might want some comfort food."

Gaige suddenly started sobbing, and collapse head first onto the table. Axton rushed over, and laid a hand over her back.

"Hey, Gaige," Axton soothed. "Y'know, I lost a pet once."

Gaige continued to cry. Axton decided it would be better to cut his losses, and headed out to door.

"If you want to hear that story, I'm just around the corner. By the way, you just need to reconnect the materialisation subprocessor to the Argus Capacitor. That should help fix the integrator."

Gaige lifted her head in shock. "What? How did you figure that?"

Axton grinned. "My turret isn't a thing that doesn't break down. I know a thing or two about Heckler-circuit reintergrators. Anyway, I'm sure Deathtrap 2.0 will be ready in no time."

He left the room, leaving Gaige with a hot mug of chocolate, and a surprising revelation.

The next day, the Vault Hunters gathered in the newly repaired Marcus Munitions. The store had been hit by a stray missile, and the insides gutted. However, Marcus had enlisted the help of Scooter and Ellie, and the shop was shining new. The six mercenaries were gathered in the shooting range, where Gaige was ready to show them the new-and-improved Deathtrap.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," started Gaige. "Please welcome…Deathtrap II."

She waved her newer, sleeker left arm, and summoned the flying robot into existence. All the others gasped. Except for Krieg. He was at another alleyway, shooting his Jakobs revolver into a screaming Hyperion engineer."

The new Deathtrap was the same size as the last. However, instead of the twin claws and junkyard construction, this one was much cleaner. On one shoulder, a missile pod rested on a articulated hardpoint. On the other, a large cannon sat. The digistructing claws now glowed green, and the head was sleeker. The flame was still skeletal, but the paintwork was gleaming black, with red flamed across the chest.

"Deathtrap II is equipped with a multitude of new and improved features. Let's show off the improved anarchy…."

An hour later, the Vault Hunters arrived at the command centre for a briefing. Lilith closed the door of the briefing room, and sighed.

"Okay. We know how to stop Jack."

The Vault hunters looked round at each other. Angel was sitting at the front of the room, her siren tattoos glowing. Angel opened her eyes, and began speaking.

"After 48 hours of searching, I have found no trace of Jack in the ECHOnet. However, it appears that Jack has transmitted himself to a unexpected place: Roland 1."

At one of the many consoles, a man in a grey suit piped up.

"Damm! I designed Roland to be incapable of being impregnated!"

Angel sighed. "Steve, the word is _Impregnable,_ not _Impregnated_. Please, just focus on your project."

Salvador frowned. "What Project is this man working on? Isn't that a Hyperion tech uniform?"

Mordecai spoke up from the back of the room.

"Steve is workin' on a AI version of Tannis. He estimates it'll be about 90% less insane, but 500% smarter. He also reckons that cabbages are alien spies, so...yeaaaah..."

Lilith took back control of the meeting. "Luckily for us, but unfortunately for Jack, his attempt to use Roland 1 to infiltrate our systems was unsuccessful. The system's safeguards have trapped him inside the system. However, he could break out at any time. That's why we're sending you up there to fight Jack."

Salvador bounced up and down in his eat excitedly. As far as Gaige knew, Salvador had always wanted to go to space. Axton looked (as was the case at every briefing) stoic and impassive. Maya looked thoughtful, and absentmindedly thumbed a copy of _Sir Hammerlock's Guide to Pandora_. Zer0 sharpened his blade, as he customarily did at random times. Finally, Krieg simply tried to yank his buzzaxe out of the wooded tabletop. It came out with a jerk that moved the entire table off centre. Gaige looked around, and took in her friend's faces. They were ready, and so was she.

"You'll be heading up in our new shuttlecraft. Scooter built it to military-grade perfection. We know for a fact that Jack is using the satellite's sensors and inbuilt defence systems to stop anything from getting near. The new shuttle is stealthed: it'll fool any detection system into seeing nothing. Once you reach a 400km range, you'll go EVA, and attempt to disable the shuttle. I'll pilot the shuttle for this mission, and will remain on hand for rescue or fire support."

Lilith paused, before smiling.

"Let's go be badasses."

 **Chapter 8-10 will be the final few chapters in this novel. As promised, a major character (not claptrap) will die at the end. Spoilers: it's not any of the Vault Hunters, old or new. Since NO ONE actually commented on the last chapter, there will be no new Vault Hunter in the next instalment. Also, I would like to pay my respects to those who were affected by the recent London Terror attack. I have friends over there, and to anyone from the UK: you have my support. See ya next week!**


	8. Chapter 8

In a hangar embedded in the side of the city of Sanctuary, the Vault Hunters sat in the special shuttle that had been prepared for them. the shuttle was quite wide, but also quite thin. It was covered in black stealth plating, and resembled a old-fashioned stealth interceptor from the 2100's. The twin afterburners poked out the sides of the sleek body, and the twin missile pods, dual miniguns and nose-mounted laser were all primed and ready. inside the cockpit of the ship, Lilith and Angel sat in the pilot and co-pilot chairs respectively. Inside the passenger section (pressurized separately from the cockpit, and fitted with read doors and a exit ramp) were the six vault hunters. Gaige fiddled with her Oz kit, a out-dated model that Lilith had pulled out of storage.

"Got these when me and Roland were holidaying on Elpis," the Siren had said. "God that was the best holiday….blowing up Lost Legion, seeing the sights, destroying the remains of the destroyer and injuring Jack….."

The siren had trailed off, staring at a picture of Roland on the wall of the briefing room. In a smaller frame to the left was a picture of Claptrap, his bullymong-hair Mohawk mounted above the frame. Gaige remembered her wiping away a tear…

"Ten seconds till lift-off kiddos! Strap in"

Gaige snapped back to the present. The dual engines were at full roar, and the holding clamps were creaking under the stress.

"Five…four…three…two…one…Here we go!"

Gaige was suddenly slammed back in her seat, her body feeling like it weighed 10 tons. She activated her Oz kit in case the cabin lost pressure during launch. Scooter had been quite clear that the craft was A: Not tested (fully), B: Probably unsafe, and C: powered by a small fusion reactor that had come from 'A small nuclear weapon'. After Scooter had said this, Salvador had ran from the room screaming. After two hours of soothing, and a promise of a new Vladof minigun, the Gunzerker had overcome his fears, and was coming along. As Gaige thought this, the small shuttle screamed into the sky, heading for the stricken satellite.

After an hour of high-G flight, Lilith's voice crackled into the passenger compartment.

"OK kiddos, we're coming up on Roland 1. The Oz kits you have are modified: you won't need to refresh your supply. However, I removed the Ground-slam feature, and replaced it with a manoeuvring pack."

Lilith paused, and the sound of crackling paper came over the speakers.

"Here's some info on Roland 1. The satellite is a communications, monitoring and defence orbiter. We built it for the eventuality that another megacorp would come knocking at Pandora's door. It has over 200 laser turrets, and a orbit-to-surface missile launching system. The missile launchers are what we're sacred Jack will use. We've tried to raise the four technicians stationed aboard. However, they appear to have been incapacitated by Jack. Let's go kick the shit out of…"

Suddenly, the shuttle was rocked by incoming fire. Lilith began to weave and dodge round incoming fire.

"Shit! He's detected us! Vault Hunters: get out of the ship! I'm going to use the air in the cabin to blast you towards the station! Here goes nothing!"

Gaige felt the ship swing round. Krieg whooped and yelled "THE GROUND IS DANCING TO THE TUNE OF MY MURDERING! THE SONG OF BLOOD IS PINGING AROUND MY SKULL, AND I FEEL LIKE KILLING SOME OF THE BALLERINAS!"

Then the ramp went down, and the double doors slid open. The six of them were blasted out towards the station. Gaige felt her manoeuvring jets fire in a attempt to stabilise her path. Ahead, the massive shape of Roland 1 loomed in the black void. Gaige saw that she was moving to quick. At this rate, she would become the first pancake to achieve orbit. She fumbled at the controls for the jets. A prompt flashed up on her ECHOHUD.

 _'Warning! At your current velocity, firing the jets to slow down from possible terminal velocity will exhaust your current supply of oxygen. Possible asphyxiation might occur.'_

Gaige ignored the message and fired th jets. Suddenly, her oxygen bubbly was depleted, and she felt her skin begin to freeze. Then the emergency system kicked in, and she could breath again. Finally, she drifted onto the gravplating of a maintenance catwalk aboard Roland 1. She readied her gun, and ran for the entrance hatch.

 **Well readers, two more chapters! Then comes the next novel, after a short break. By the way, we have been reviewed by professional author Tracy Trinder! Yet to get a opinion yet…..see ya next week for the penultimate chapter!**


	9. Chapter 9

Gaige opened the hatch to the airlock and stepped in. She closed the outer door, and waited for the airlock to pressurize. Nothing. A laugh came over her ECHO channel.

"Oh God, you vault hunters are stupid!" said Handsome Jack. "Did you really think that the airlocks aboard this station would just OPEN for you. No, the airlocks are under MY control. Plus, you've just locked yourselves in there. Congratulations! You're going to DIE!"

The AI continued laughing as Gaige futilely banged on the inner door. Gaige pulled out her tool set, and began fiddling with the airlock circuitry. She shorted a circuit, an the inner door whooshed open. She grinned as air from within the station rushed in. she stepped through the door, and into the station. The hatch slid closed behind her. Suddenly, a loader with the Crimson raider logo stepped right in front of her. She pulled her auto pistol and pumped several rounds of corrosive ammo right into the red eye. The loader jerked, and fell over. Jack's face grinned from a nearby wall terminal.

"You bandits were stupid enough to include MY tech aboard this station. It was pretty easy to override the third-rate software you installed, and then reconfigure the loaders back to battle readiness. Luckily for you, you didn't have many weapons aboard this station that the loaders could use. But I have other ways of maiming and killing your inferior, fleshy, and weak shells."

Gaige put her pistol back In it's holster, and pulled out her Dahl blaster rifle. She continued down the corridor towards the command centre.

On the other side of the station, Axton and Salvador were fighting their way through the station's reactor room. Axton threw his turret onto the ceiling, and chucked his other turret onto the floor. He stepped into a alcove, and continued laying down fire with his Vladof minigun. Salvador suddenly ran forewards towards the loaders that were blocking access to the reactor control room. He pulled his twin corrosive shotguns, and started firing.

"Salvador!" Axton ordered. "Stop messing around and get behind cover. There's too many of…"

The commando faltered as the diminutive Gunzerker began bouncing off the walls. The loaders ahead of him tried to track him using their advanced targeting scanners, but his movements were too erratic. Soon, most of the loaders lay in smouldering pieces, and the few that remained were soon dealt with by Axton's dual turrets.

"That was AMAZING Salvador!" exclaimed Axton. "How did you know that bouncing would trick the robots?"

The Gunzerker frowned. "I didn't. I simply tripped and began bouncing off the walls. It hurt like a Truxican wrestler after a four-hour brawl. I have bruises on my…"

Axton wrinkled his face in disgust. "Sal, just TMI."

On the exterior of th station, the other three Vault Hunter's were attempting to deal with the many defence turrets that covered the exterior of the station. The annoying part was that each turret had both a plasma cannon, and twin missile pods. However, the trio of mercenaries were dealing with the problem just fine.

"DO YOU HEAR THE PAIN? IT ECHOES LIKE THE WORLD IS HOLLOW! AND EVERY TIME I HEAR IT, I FEEL THE STAB OF A THOUSAND NEEDLES! THE BURNING OF A MILLION FLAMES! AND I FEEL POWERFUL!"

Maya winced as the sound of Krieg's powerful voice echoed across the ECHO channel.

"Try and keep it down big guy," Maya requested. "Your shouts could wake the dead."

"MY DUNGEON MASTER ALWAYS SAID I MAKE A EXCELLENT BONE SALAD!"

"The siren is right/Your voice is really loud, man/Try and keep it down."

The assassin took out another turret with a swing of his sword. Maya winced as Krieg was hit by a beam of plasma.

"Hold on Krieg, I'm coming to heal you."

"I'M SURFING ON A SEA OF SCREAMS! MY EARS ARE PLUCKERED AND MY MOUTH IS FULL OF THE STUFF! AND THE WOMAN BENDING OVER ME WITH THE SHINY BEESTING AND THE SORROWED FACE WON'T STOP HANDING OUT THE CANDY! AND I FLOW, COLLIDE AND SEPERATE LIKE THE WAVES DO, AND SEE EVERYTHING!"

"OK Krieg," soothed Maya. "Just hold still."

Her tattoos glowed, and the Psycho's wounds began to close up.

"THANK YOU, PRETTY LADY!"

just then, Lilith's shuttle banked up, and took out the last enemy.

" _WATCH OUT! THE STATION IS LAUNCHING MISSILES!"_

Maya looked in shock as the bottom half of the station split into four pieces. The centre array of cameras remained in place, while four massive missiles slid out of the sides.

"Oh no…"

A single missile ejected from the station, it's massive Thruster firing as it plunged towards Pandora. The station rocked, and Maya prayed for those who were on the ground.

Back aboard the station, Gaige reached the command centre. It was deserted, except for the corpses of four Crimson Raider technicians.

"Ahhh, Gaige,"

Gaige spun, and found another modified loader, just like the one Jack had used back at the depot. This one was more hodgepodge. Instead of a missile rack, it had a appropriated minigun. In the place of it's screen was a commercial holographic entertainment unit. The face on this one was corrupted and pixelated.

"Y'know, you were always my favourite of those lousy Vault hunters. For one, you had brains, unlike that brute Salvador, or that moron Axton. Plus, you're quite hot, unlike that blue-haired siren bitch."

"Don't you dare talk about my friends like that," menaced Gaige. "Or the last thing you'll ever see will be the bullet that'll blow your program to bits."

"Then comes your unbreakable spirit," continue the loader, like it hadn't heard her. "It never breaks. But let's put that to the test. Y'know what that shudder was a little while back? it was a missile. Aimed at Sanctuary."

"No!" screamed Gaige. "You Skag-sucking, Fuckwit liar!"

"I guess that proves my point," exclaimed the loader. "Your spirit can be broken. By the way, here's a little home movie of mine. Should get killer ratings on my ECHOcast!"

A screen on the wall showed the missile screaming towards Sanctuary. It hit directly on one of the engine pylons. The massive city began to spin earthwards. Slowly, the mighty goliath crashed into the ground with a massive boom. The city was dead.

"FUCK YOU JACK! EAT METAL DEATH, MOTHERFUCKER!"

Gaige vaulted over a console, and summoned Deathtrap Mk 2. The somot materialised with a flash, making the JACK Loader step back.

"Uuuh, BFF's?" asked the AI?"

Then the loader was in pieces, the minigun firing pitifully. The AI core thudded to the ground. Gaige rushed forewards, and jabbed a infostick into the USB port.

"There we go," said Gaige. "Jack is trapped in the prison. That motherfucker is ours."

 **NEXT CHAPTER IS THE END! DUH-DUH DAAAAA!**


	10. Chapter 10

Gaige picked up the AI core, and placed it inside a bag made of a copper mesh. She put the bag on her belt, not trusting the faraday cage to prevent her SDU from being compromised. She then turned to walk out of the command centre. Instead, she started floating in the air.

"Shit!" Gaige swore. "The AG must be offline. Guys, are you OK?"

" _This is Axton. Me and Salvador just reached the reactor, but the system is shutting down. does that have anything to do with us capturing Jack?"_

 _"Everyone, get out of the station!"_ screamed Maya over the ECHO channel. " _The entire station has just begun to fall back to Pandora. You'll enter the atmosphere in approximately 2 minutes!"_

Gaige silently swore, and reached over to her Thruster controls. She pushed the joystick forewards. Nothing happened. She was about to try again when her Oz Kit's AI spoke up in it's calm and collected voice.

 _Warning! Oz kit Thruster assembly has suffered a critical malfunction. Estimated nanotech repair time: 2 minutes, ten seconds._

"Guys! I'm trapped in the control area! My Oz kit is malfunctioning!

"Ah Shit!" exclaimed Axton. "Me and Salvador just left the station. Just hang on Gaige! We'll…."

"Don't worry ma'am. I'll help."

Gaige spun around using the still-functioning RCS system. She saw a man standing behind her, somehow staying on the floor. He was wearing a Camo jacket, a pair of metal boots, a weird bracer with holograms dancing all over it, and had a small robotic dog sitting on his right shoulder. He had a katana slung over his back, along with a strange, rectangular carbine. At his side was a pistol, which Gaige didn't recognise as being from any manufacturer on Pandora.

"Activate Time-Drive!" the man yelled.

Suddenly, Gaige appeared aboard the shuttle. All the vault hunters looked at her strangely. Before anyone could speak, the shuttle was diving for Pandora, and Gaige was strapping into her seat.

"We're going to land at Sanctuary. Or what's left of it. According to transmissions from Brick…the entire city has fallen to earth. Heavy damage, and many casualties. Luckily, they're out of the zone where Roland 1 is going down. they'll be OK.

Gaige leant back in her seat, and sobbed. She felt something in her hand and opened it. In her palm was a note. It read

 _By the way ma'am, My name is Jake. And you'll be seeing me again soon._

The shuttle landed at sanctuary, and found devastation. The city had come down at an angle, completely wrecking the north-east side of the city. The command centre was now at an angle, and most of the ship part was in pieces. Around the fallen city, a makeshift refugee camp had quickly been set up by the survivors. The shuttle landed at the edge of the site, and Gaige stepped out into Chaos.

People ran past carrying arms full of supplies and wheeling stretchers. Tents had been set up to shelter the survivors, and to act as makeshift hospitals. Dr Zed ran past, his mask askew, and his arms full of instahealths. All around them, were people trying desperately to help those in need, and trying to salvage what they could from the badly damaged cityship.

Brick ran up, Mordecai limping behind him on crutches. He had blood soaking his shirt, and had a huge chunk of fabric ripped off his pant leg.

"Lily! Thank goodness you're here. This is worse than New Haven! Please come quick, we have wounded. Maya, you know medicine right?"

Maya nodded, and the two Sirens departed with Brick. Mordecai stepped forwards and addressed the rest.

"Alright, we need some help here. Gaige, can you please help with the salvage from the ship. We need anything remotely medical or otherwise vitally important to survival. Sal, go with her. Axton: you're needed over at the north side. some of the local bandits have decided to attack the downed city. We're barely holding them off. Krieg, you come too.

"THE ERASER AND THE SPICY ONE, THE GOALPOST AND THE SHINY ONE, THEY'RE ALL ABOARD THE INTERGALACTIC TRASHCAN! AND ALL I SEE IS RED! AND THE BLOOD MAKES ME ANGRY!"

"Good man, said Mordecai. Gaige saw him step forewards and start talking to Angel. The small siren nodded, and came over to Gaige.

"Gaige, hand me the Faraday Cage." Said the siren. "I'm going to end this once and for all."

Gaige handed over the bad with the AI core inside. Angel focusd her power into it, and the AI core began to smoke. The faraday cage glowed whit hot as Angel disabled the powerful cooling systems and the minute fans that kept the powerful computer core from overheating. Slowly, the core melted into a pile of molten metal, and dripped from the bottom of the bag.

"Goodbye Dad," said Angel. "Go to hell, and stay there."

Gaige ran off, towards the downed ship. She looked back, and saw Angel walk towards the camp. Finally, Pandora was safe from Jack.

Over at the ruins of Moxxi's red light, Maya was desperately trying to dig aside the debris surrounding someone trapped under the rubble. She finally unearthed the person and gasped. Moxxi, the most Buxom bar-owner in the universe (and arguably the most coveted person in the universe) was dying. She had a piece of metal through her side, which was covered in blood.

"Maya…" wheezed the dying bartender. "Get Zoe for me, will you."

Maya waved over the distraught waitress. She saw Moxxi, and started weeping.

"Zoe," said the dying woman. "Please, keep up my legacy. I trust that you'll keep my bar open, and keep the people entertained?"

Zoe nodded, and kept weeping. Moxxi looked up at the sky, and she said her last ever innuendo.

"Hope those angels are blowing their trumpets…."

 _Above all the commotion, a lone observer watches. Surrounded by a bubble of oxygen, he uses his eye to zoom in on the commotion. Smiling he says a couple of words to his robotic dog. He disappears inside a wobbling green portal. Beneath this, the planet Pandora sits. Violent as it is, it is safe. For now._

 **Thanks to everyone for being here for this INCREDIBLE journey. The appearance of Jake at the end will lead into another story. As many will have guessed, Jake is a analogue for me in my Fanfiction stories. Also, I have a few messages for the community.**

 **1.** **The next book will be delayed, as I am writing another story. As well as this, there will be some bonus content relased later in this novel, so keep tuning back in to see more.**

 **2.** **I will be shutting down my SubNautica and Fallout stories for now. Keep in mind that they will still be up, but they will not be completed, nor updated in the foreseeable future**

 **3.** **Thanks to all my fans, and to those in the US and Germany for your continued support. As you may be aware, my story has been put up on TV tropes as one of the recommended fanfics. To whoever did that, you have my thanks and gratitude.**

 **4.** **Keep on wandering the borderlands folks!**


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